Don’t you ever just…. switch off?

My kids would probably spend their entire free time on their screens if they could. Coming from a generation where if there was nothing on the TV you wanted to watch, you went and did something else. But with the age of ‘instant on demand whatever-you-want’ there never seems to be a screen down time.

Is screen time bad?

I heard a brilliant comment from Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith who said we should stop calling it ‘screen time’ and lumping everything in together. There is passive screen time, active screen time and meta-cognative screen time. There is a place for all of these things to enable relaxing, communicating, learning and being creative. But wouldn’t it be great to just… switch off? Just for a bit? What harm could that do?

The lost art of zoning out

I heard this brilliant TED Talk by Manoush Zomorodi about boredom and how it can give rise some of your most inspirational and creative moments. So, when do we allow ourselves to get bored? Like me, if you’ve nothing to do, you instinctively reach for your phone? I listened to a Podcast the other day by a Rabbi who was practising the art of spending a good few hours just ‘being’. No screens, no activity, just finding a peaceful place and doing nothing. What would happen? I imagine I’d last a few minutes, but a few hours?? What a challenge.

Is having a break good for you?

The way to find out is this; try it. If you find it monstrously difficult, then perhaps you’ve grown more addicted to your devices than you think. What about our kids? How would they handle it? Maybe start small. Just a few hours a week; how about 5-8pm on a Wednesday night? That’s what we decided to do as a family. Yes there is grumbling and complaining and ‘oh I forgot!’ but we are trying. And you know what? If nothing else, it’s showing them that it’s a good idea. That they can do it. My oldest is already talking about it to her friends and saying that when she leaves home, she’s going to carry on with having a weekly screen break.

How do I get started?

Have a look at this website: The Big Screen Switch Off

Screensoff.org gives you lots of ideas, articles, research and resources to help you introduce this to your weekly routine and/or your family. It may not seem much, but it’s a start. Maybe this will inspire you to change habits, start a new hobby, or simply increase the time you spend with your family.

If you’re wondering how to support your little ones in taking a screen break, then have a look at this brilliant post by Hannah Hagon from unplugged tots- The Void: Why Boredom Without Screens Is a Gift

What do you think? Fancy giving it a try?